There could be yet more surprises for Arsenal heading into the final week of the transfer window, and a popular figure could be in line for a shock move.

Emile Smith Rowe is a much-liked player at the Emirates, as a graduate from the Hale End academy and an excellent attacking midfielder, but he has yet to feature in the Premier League this season.

After missing most of last season with injury, the 23-year-old looked sharp in pre-season and off the bench in the Community Shield, but has failed to appear since.

Journalist Simon Phillips has now revealed in his Substack column that he is a player who Chelsea may potentially look at as they aim to add another attacking player to their squad this week, and this could be a deal to watch.

“Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal was one new name mentioned, so that might be one to keep an eye on. Nothing solid on him yet and only mentioned from one source,” he claimed.

This would be a disaster

Although Arsenal are well stocked in midfield and on the wings, Smith Rowe does have a part to play this season.

His injury struggles, which meant he had surgery last year to fix an ongoing issue, have now subsided, and he looked back to his best in pre-season and at the under-21 Euros.

Prior to his injuries, he was a first-team player ahead of Gabriel Martinelli, and his last full season saw him score 10 Premier League goals, and was described as “special” by Jamie Carragher during his explosion.

Selling Smith Rowe, who alongside Bukayo Saka, was one of the main faces of Mikel Arteta’s project as an academy star, would be a bad move in itself, but selling him to Chelsea would be almost unforgivable.

Arsenal bought Kai Havertz from Chelsea, one of the club’s biggest rivals, for a huge fee this summer, and he has been disappointing so far.

If Smith Rowe is sold to Chelsea, for potentially less than what was paid for Havertz, it will not go down well with fans at all. There is a case to be made that Smith Rowe should be given more game time over the German, or at least an opportunity to earn his place back given Havertz’s poor start.

Weakening the Arsenal squad, whilst also strengthening a rival, and losing a popular player who has been one of the club’s top prospects in years, would turn what has been a strong transfer window into a disappointing one.

The post 'Keep an eye on': PL rivals could be about to launch move for 'special' Arsenal player appeared first on Arsenal Insider.